Delegate Julie Biggs of Redlands in Tampa as Convention Ramps Up

Redlands attorney Julie Biggs is in Tampa this week for the Republican National Convention, where Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were expected to arrive Tuesday for the first full day of activities re-scheduled due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

Biggs is a delegate to the convention and she chairs the San Bernardino County campaign for Romney. In Redlands she works for Burke, Williams & Sorenson, where she has "expertise in the complex process of incorporating new cities," according to the law firm.

Before heading to Tampa, Biggs spoke last week with Warren Olney on KCRW's "Which Way L.A.?" about her role at the convention.

Olney: Conventions don't nominate presidential candidates any more. That happens in state primaries and caucuses. Many people believe all that goes on is the TV show. But there is more to being a delegate than just being in the audience for political speeches. Julie Biggs is an attorney in Redlands, and she will be representing California's new 31st Congressional District at the Republican Convention. Julie Biggs, good to have you on our program.

Biggs: Well thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Olney: You're a native Californian. You spent 10 years in Colorado and while you were there you were a delegate, an alternate delegate I should say in 1988 to that convention. Now you're going back as a delegate. How did you get to be one?

Biggs: Well, it's a little interesting. You know, you never know which candidate's going to be the one. And so I early on determined that this year the candidate of my choice was Mitt Romney. And so I participated in the campaign throughout, you know, for the last year or so, as much as I possibly could. And as things evolved and he became the nominee, well then, you're in a position to be named because you've been helpful all along. But if you pick the wrong candidate, you're not going to be there.

Olney: So it's kind of a reward then.

Biggs: Oh yeah, very definitely. It's something you earn, but it's also intended certainly to reward those who were there early on and who stood the test of time in terms of commitment and performance for the campaign.

Olney: How did you earn this reward? What did you do?

Biggs: Well, I'm the chair of the San Bernardino County campaign for Romney, and my job has been to kind of rev up the volunteers, get people together, remind that there's an election going on, and basically to get them to get their neighbors and friends tuned in to what's happening in the country.

Olney: Well what about all those delegates that are going to be there for Santorum and Gingrich and others who ran. Is part of your job to persuade them that Romney's better than they thought?

Biggs: Well, I think Romney actually is doing that on a day-by-day basis. But most of those delegates have signed on. We are all united as Republicans in wanting a change in this administration, and believing that it's absolutely essential this year. So I don't think we'll have too much convincing to do. And differences happen in politics. If you didn't, you wouldn't have politics.

Olney: So what do you think your job is going to be at the convention, or, are you just going to be there to enjoy yourself?

Biggs: Well, part of it is certainly enjoyment, because it's good to be with people who are similarly minded in terms of where they think the future of the country should be and should go. There is the satisfaction knowing there are others of you who care as much as you do. Basically there's not a lot of work for just plain delegates like me, other than showing up and voting for the nominee. This year of course it's virtually uncontested, and we know who the V.P. choice is too. So we're going in you know with a plate already set for us and it's a matter of just enjoying the entire ritual that we go through in this country.

Olney: Do you as a Romney delegate feel that Paul Ryan, the choice for Vice President that Romney has made, is so much more conservative than Romney himself that there's a sort of disconnect there?

Biggs: Oh absolutely not. I think Ryan was a brilliant choice. He was a surprise to me simply because you never know how the candidate is thinking. But once that choice was made I looked at that and thought 'My goodness, Ryan is going to make us talk about the issues here.' And on the issues, especially the economic issues and the fundamental question of the relationship of people to government, and the role that government should play in individual lives, will be on the table. And that's what's so important about this election. I think it was an excellent choice and I don't think there's any hesitancy that I've seen among any of the Republicans.

Olney: So is the convention then going to be just window-dressing, just a television show for people who haven't done all of the things that you did to earn your way there?

Biggs: Well, you know, for those of us who worship at the altar of Democracy, the convention is sort of like communion. It is the culmination and the ritual and the confirmation of all those things and all those years that have gone by, when we've treasured the Constitution and the liberty and freedom that we have in this country. This is an affirmation, absolutely an affirmation. I think folks watching at home have that sense that this is something America does. We do it every four years, there is a system to it, it's peaceful, and it changes direction for the country in accord with the will of the people. So it's a wonderful event.

Olney: How lonely do you feel as a Republican in California, where the party registration is dropping fast or even some former Republican officials are saying it's gotten so conservative it's irrelevant to state politics?

Biggs: Well, that's where having been in Colorado 10 years kind of give you a different perspective. I do feel pretty lonely in California. Actually though when I was in Colorado I was considered sort of a left-wing Republican which made all of my close friends laugh because I'm quite conservative. But it all depends on your perspective. But here in California the parties don't really have any power and as a result they tend to be controlled by factions rather than by the core of the real Republican sentiment in the state. And Democrats too for that matter. Both parties are sort of marginalized. California's a media state. You can buy TV. You can sell most messages. So yeah, it's a little lonely here.

Olney: A lot of people say though the Republican Party nationally has come to be controlled by factions, by the Tea Party, by the Ron Paul people, and others, although I think Ron Paul still is as somewhat on the fringe. But there have been many who have said that it has become too conservative for the moderate base, for the Rockefeller Republicans if you will, the people who supported him, and Eisenhower, and were in the moderate wing of the party for so many years. Do you think that distinction still exists?

Biggs: Well, you know I think it's kind of hard to say, because the Tea Party people get a bad rap I think in the media. They're clean, well-mannered, polite, and they are fervent, certainly in their views. And some of those views, many of them, are tied to the economic issues, where in fact I think the party is pretty conservative. So I'm not sure that there's as much of a divide there as perhaps it may appear from the surface.

Olney: Well Julie Biggs you're going to be in Tampa next week. Maybe we'll see you there, we'll look for you, and thanks a lot for being on our program tonight.

Biggs: Thank you so much.

Olney: Julie Biggs, again a Republican National delegate from Redlands.

"Which Way L.A.?" with Olney airs four nights a week on KCRW, which bills itself as a community service of Santa Monica College and Southern California's leading National Public Radio affiliate. For more information about KCRW visit www.kcrw.com. To listen to the Biggs interview, click here.

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